Soldier X

Soldier X
Cover of SoldierX: depicting the swastika and a boy wearing a Russian fur hat
Author	Don L. Wulffson
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	World War II
Publisher	Penguin USA
Publication date	July 2006
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	227 pp

Soldier X is a young adult war drama book written by Don Wulffson about a half-German and half-Russian boy named Erik Brandt who is unwillingly recruited into the Wehrmacht, Hitler's army, during World War II. The book tells about the war from the perspective of Erik Brandt as he leads a life as both a German and Russian, as well as the ways in which war can affect a person.

The book won the 2002 Christopher Award for books for young adults,^[1] and was on the 2002 National Council for the Social Studies list of notable books for young readers.^[2]

Plot summary

Soldier X takes place during World War II. The main character of the book is a 16-year-old German boy named Erik Brandt. Although Erik lives in Germany, he is also half-Russian and speaks Russian very fluently, and he is often used as an interpreter for the German army, questioning Russian prisoners of war. Erik shows discontent at being a part of Hitler's Nazi army during World War 2, but he is forced to fight alongside young boys and older veterans alike in terrible conditions. On the ride to the German base the Russians attack the German soldiers. Leaving some soldiers wounded . Erik learns to accept several of his German allies as friends, and soon heads into his first battle after living in muddy trenches. After receiving a quick weapons training one day, Erik's platoon is attacked by Russian forces. During the battle, Erik is knocked out. When he awakens, Erik finds that most, if not all, of his friends are now dead, and that the Russians have taken the position from the Germans. Finding a dead Russian soldier nearby, he changes from his German uniform into a Russian army uniform. Since he is wounded, he is then taken to a Russian hospital, mistaken for a Russian due to his understanding of that language. There he meets a nurse, Tamara, who takes care of some of the injured soldiers - including Erik - and would later develop strong feelings for her.

After becoming accustomed to hospital life and even volunteering to work around the hospital, Erik quickly makes new friends of his own: injured Russian men like Nikolai and, of course, Tamara and most of the nurses. Erik bonds with Tamara more so when he learns that her brother had died in a battle in the war. Tamara learns of Erik's German origins when Erik accidentally uses profanity in German after burning himself with hot water. Surprisingly, Tamara keeps this a secret, but keeps to herself more often than usual, seeming more quiet and reserved.

As this daily routine carries on and Erik meets more and more injured soldiers, Erik especially bonds with one Russian soldier who, due to injuries sustained, would lose both of his legs and be sent back to his family without being able to walk. One day, the hospital is evacuated because of an impending wave of destruction in the advancing of German troops and artillery shellings. Erik escapes with Tamara and flees from any sightings of conflicts. Walking from city to city and looking for food wherever possible, Erik and Tamara travel together and once again reinforce their bond with each other. Their love reaches an epiphany when they kiss each other and proclaim their love for one another after being housed by a kind lady who had lost her son to the war. Eventually, Erik and Tamara are both injured by Allied soldiers. Ordered to cease fire by their commanding officer, the group of Allied, apparently American, soldiers notices that Erik and Tamara are but teenagers and send them to a hospital. Erik awakens to find that he is scarred in a gruesome manner from surgeries, and that he has lost an arm due to a gunshot wound. Tamara walks away with fewer and far less urgent injuries. Despite the grouchy and melancholy mood Erik first shows due to his injuries, he and Tamara make up and get married as the story comes to an end.

References